N.J. Couple Who Turned In Sick Dog Charged with Animal Cruelty

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A couple who turned in an ill, emaciated cocker spaniel to animal authorities, saying they found it in a bag on the side of a New Jersey roadway, has been charged with animal cruelty, according to the Monmouth County SPCA.

Victor "Buddy" Amato, the Chief Humane Law Enforcement Officer with the SPCA, told NBC 4 New York that Keith Morgan, 55, and Shauna Morgan, 44, of Brick Township were charged after "interviews with the suspects and facts presented."

The Monmouth County prosecutor's office spokesman Charles Webster said the Morgans are facing multiple counts of animal cruelty and interfering with an investigation.

Alicia Necker of the Associated Humane Societies said the couple brought the dog in on Thursday, saying they found it in a black plastic bag along a road in Wall Township. The dog was believed to be in poor condition before being placed in the bag.

"It's severe, he's not out of the woods," Necker said.

Workers at the AHS named the dog "Morgan" before it knew that the couple owned it.

Morgan is hooked up to two separate IVs in a restricted recovery area at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls.

When NBC 4 New York visited him, he was laid out in a cage and unresponsive.